Don’t be afraid

Fear of public speaking is high on the list of common phobias, right up there with fear of heights, flying, and spiders. The best cure for any fear is experience. The open-grid format encourages participation. Campers will interact and contribute to your presentation. An engaged audience will make presenting a lot easier than you might expect!

HigherEdCamp is not just about the technology

You don’t need an advanced degree in computer science to present at HigherEdCamp. All of us interact with technology. Some campers are interested in how we go about teaching technology. Some are interested in how we can better use tech to enhance teaching the arts. Don’t feel like you can’t present because you’re not leading a session on developing iPhone applications. Identify your perspective and create a session around it.

Pick a format for your session

Sessions generally go one of two ways: either as a straight presentation or as an open discussion on a topic.

Present on a project that you’ve implemented. Get hands on with a technology that you know the ins and outs of. Or moderate a group discussion. Research some facts and statistics. Come up with a list of educated questions on a topic. Lead a group discussion with those questions as starting point.

Check out the session tracker to see what session topics other campers are suggesting. Vote on those and add your own ideas to the list.

Leave plenty of room for discussion

Each session is one hour long. But you won’t spend the whole hour presenting. Leave plenty of room for discussion amongst attendees. Encourage campers to ask questions. The more engage your audience, the better the session will be.

Do you need slides or not?

Slides are not required. The session rooms in Huntsman Hall have computers connected to projectors where you can show slides and hands-on web demos. You can also bring in and connect your own laptop to the projectors. But it’s totally up to you if you want to use slides.

Come up with a catchy title

Your session’s success depends on the campers it attracts. Don’t just write “Collaboration Tools” on the session board. Make the title something catchy, specific, and descriptive like “From Moodle to Google: Systems for getting work done on the web.”

Conferences typically set a schedule of speakers and sessions well in advance of the event. In fact, a roster of well known speakers is usually a conference’s selling point. Experts share their knowledge with an audience at a conference.

An unconference taps into the knowledge of the audience. There is no set roster of speakers for HigherEdCamp. Instead the day starts off with an empty board split up into hour long session blocks. Each hour of the day holds a few open session blocks. Attendees gather around the board first thing in the morning, coffee in hand, and write in topic titles. Throughout the day, you can look at the list of sessions going on in any given hour. You get to pick the one that interests you the most in that hour.

BarCampPhilly session board - Photo by Roz Duffy

Some unconference sessions are like traditional conference sessions. An expert can give a formal, prepared presentation on some sort of technology he/she has worked with. Someone knowledgeable might present on collaboration platforms like Blackboard, Open Course, Sharepoint, and so on.

Other sessions are more like panel discussions. A few people will get together and lead a group discussion with a title something like “Teaching Tech – Creating a relevant tech curriculum for the future.” Attendees participate in the discussion.

Everyone is encouraged to lead a session. Having topics in mind ahead of time helps. You don’t need to be an “expert.” I guarantee that you have knowledge to share on the things that you work with everyday. You don’t have to do it alone. Buddy up with some colleagues and present on something you’ve done or experienced within your organization.

Some of the best sessions come from people posting a topic they want to learn more about. If your organization is getting ready to select a content management platform, then suggest a session on picking a content management platform. Folks who have experience with content management will gravitate to your session. Attendees will share their real world experiences with you.

So come out to HigherEdCamp. Give it a chance and we’re sure that you’ll find it an invaluable chance to exchange ideas & experiences with folks from colleges and universities all over the area.